Excitement around vaccine technologies has renewed over the past few years, driven by the emergence of new disease threats to humanity, the reemergence of previously curable diseases in the Western World such as TB, the threat of bioterrorism, and increasing evidence that cancers can be treated by vaccination, as long as the right antigens can be found. Infectious diseases still remain as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, killing more than 13 million young adults and children annually. TB alone is responsible for 2 million deaths annually, while it is estimated that combined over 3 million individuals die from malaria and AIDS each year. New emerging or reemerging infectious diseases, such as SARS or Avian flu, also pose a continual threat to global world health. Many infectious diseases, such as malaria, TB, AIDS, SARS, and influenza are caused by intracellular pathogens that are capable of growing and spreading directly within human cells. Because intracellular pathogens grow sequestered within host cells, the humoral (antibody) immune response is often ineffective in generating protective immunity.
When they work, vaccines are one of the most effective ways of preventing and treating disease. Unfortunately, many research and clinical vaccine programs have a low probability of success because, prior to the present invention, there was no way to screen all possible antigens or predict which ones will be effective.
Thus, there is a need for new strategies to develop effective vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer.